U.S. patent number 8,295,529 [Application Number 11/845,896] was granted by the patent office on 2012-10-23 for gaming headset with integrated microphone and adapted for olfactory stimulation.
This patent grant is currently assigned to BCInet, Inc.. Invention is credited to Ryan M. Petersen, Franz Michael Schuette.
United States Patent |
8,295,529 |
Petersen , et al. |
October 23, 2012 |
Gaming headset with integrated microphone and adapted for olfactory
stimulation
Abstract
A gaming headset adapted for precise delivery of chemical
substances capable of olfactory stimulation, such as odorants,
fragrances, pheromones, etc. The headset includes at least one
earpiece containing a speaker, a feature for securing the earpiece
to the person's head while positioning the speaker over one of the
person's ears when the headset is worn, an armature disposed
relative to the earpiece so as to extend toward the person's mouth,
a microphone located on the armature so as to be located in front
of the person's mouth, and a feature supported by and extending
along the armature for delivering at least one chemical substance
to the person's nostril's when the headset is worn.
Inventors: |
Petersen; Ryan M. (Sunnyvale,
CA), Schuette; Franz Michael (Colorado Springs, CO) |
Assignee: |
BCInet, Inc. (San Jose,
CA)
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Family
ID: |
39113469 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/845,896 |
Filed: |
August 28, 2007 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20080049960 A1 |
Feb 28, 2008 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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60823706 |
Aug 28, 2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
381/374; 381/375;
381/371 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04R
1/083 (20130101); H04R 1/028 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04R
25/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;381/370,371,374,375,376,382,384 ;379/430 ;181/128,129
;128/200.28,201.19,201.24,204.18,206.12 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Le; Huyen D
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Hartman Global IP Law Hartman; Gary
M. Hartman; Domenica N. S.
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application
No. 60/823,706, filed Aug. 28, 2006, the contents of which are
incorporated herein by reference.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A headset adapted to be worn by a person, the headset
comprising: at least one earpiece containing a speaker; means for
securing the earpiece to the person's head while positioning the
speaker over one of the person's ears when the headset is worn; an
armature disposed relative to the earpiece so as to extend toward
the person's mouth when the headset is worn; a microphone located
on the armature so as to be located in front of the person's mouth
when the headset is worn; means supported by and extending along
the armature for delivering at least one chemical substance to the
person's nostril's when the headset is worn; a reservoir housed
within the earpiece, storing the chemical substances, and enabling
the chemical substances to be drawn therefrom and flow through the
substance delivering means; and means for mixing the chemical
substances after being drawn from the reservoir, the mixing means
comprising a MEMS device.
2. The headset according to claim 1, wherein the armature is
attached to the earpiece.
3. The headset according to claim 1, wherein the substance
delivering means comprises a duct located within the armature and
extending to a distal end of the armature.
4. The headset according to claim 1, wherein the substance
delivering means comprises an orifice located at a distal end of
the armature.
5. The headset according to claim 1, wherein the substance
delivering means comprises an orifice located above the microphone
when the headset is worn so as to directly release the chemical
substances toward the person's nostrils.
6. The headset according to claim 1, further comprising means for
delivering air simultaneously with the chemical substances through
the substance delivering means.
7. The headset according to claim 6, wherein the air delivering
means is integrated into the headset.
8. The headset according to claim 6, wherein the air delivering
means is within the earpiece.
9. The headset according to claim 6, further comprising a mixing
chamber adapted to receive the chemical substances from the
reservoir and the air from the air delivering means and deliver a
mixture of the chemical substances and the air to the substance
delivering means.
10. The headset according to claim 6, further comprising means for
delivering water simultaneously with the chemical substances and
the air through the substance delivering means.
11. The headset according to claim 6, further comprising means for
electrically connecting the headset to a computer gaming
system.
12. A headset adapted to be worn by a person and electrically
connectable to a computer gaming system, the headset comprising: at
least one earpiece containing a speaker; means for securing the
earpiece to the person's head while positioning the speaker over
one of the person's ears when the headset is worn; an armature
disposed relative to the earpiece so as to extend toward the
person's mouth when the headset is worn; a microphone located on
the armature so as to be located in front of the person's mouth
when the headset is worn; means for electrically connecting the
speaker and the microphone to the computer gaming system; an
orifice located above the microphone on the armature when the
headset is worn; and a duct within and extending along the armature
for delivering at least one chemical substance to the orifice so as
to directly release the chemical substances toward the person's
nostril's when the headset is worn; a reservoir adapted to store
the chemical substances and from which the chemical substances are
drawn and flow through the duct and the orifice; and means for
mixing the chemical substances after being drawn from the reservoir
and before flowing through the duct and the orifice.
13. The headset according to claim 12, wherein the microphone and
the orifice are located at a distal end of the armature.
14. The headset according to claim 12, wherein the mixing means
comprises a MEMS device.
15. The headset according to claim 12, further comprising means for
delivering air simultaneously with the chemical substances through
the duct and the orifice.
16. The headset according to claim 12, further comprising means for
delivering water simultaneously with the chemical substances
through the substance delivering means.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to gaming systems and
peripheral devices therefor. More particularly, this invention
relates to a headset adapted for use with a gaming system and
configured to provide an olfactory stimulation capability.
The experience of virtual reality in computer-based gaming systems
depends on the effective representation of sensory modalities. Of
the five sensory modalities (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and
taste) only two--sight and hearing--are typically addressed in most
gaming setups through visual and auditory inputs in the form of a
screen display and sound output to speakers or headphones. Smell
and taste are absent from most gaming scenarios, and tactile
information is generally limited to virtual reality configurations.
One multisensory stimulation system incorporating tactile and
olfactory stimulation has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,767
to Douglas et al.
Current gaming setups often employ headsets instead of speaker
setups. The advantages of headsets compared to, for example. a
surround sound speaker setup, are that there is little or no
disturbance of others. Likewise, the cost of a headset is in most
cases substantially lower than that of a speaker system of
comparable audio quality. Surround sound headphones such as the
Zalman Theatre6 six-speaker headphones are generally preferred to
simple stereo headphones because they generate better positional
audio cues that translate into better survival chances in
first-person shooter games. However, a drawback of most headphones
is the suppression of background noise, either because of the
adaptation to the sound levels of the headphones in "open"
headphones or simply because of the shielding or noise suppression
accomplished by "closed" headphone designs. On the other hand,
unlike the situation of competitive gaming, casual virtual combat
or even practice battles do not require complete separation from
the environment. Instead, it is often desirable to maintain a
certain degree of contact with the outside world. Gaming
headphones, therefore, sometimes incorporate additional inputs, for
example, for phone or intercom systems that are blended into the
audio stream. At the same time, it is possible to port a microphone
to the headphones to use the gaming headphones as a headset. Such
headsets can be utilized for telephony as well as for communicating
messages to opponents in games that are ported to support this
option. The positioning of the microphone can either be lateral to
the head or, as in aviation headsets, directly in front of the
mouth.
Of increasing interest to the gaming industry is the use of
olfactory stimuli, that is, the use of smells to create an ultimate
gaming sensation. The importance of smell can be appreciated by the
fact that the olfactory system is the phylogenetically oldest
sensory system, and as such harbors the triggering of primal
instincts and emotional reactions beyond anything accomplishable
with visual or auditory stimuli. Even though those olfactory
stimuli are important, the complexity of the olfactory system and a
profound lack of its understanding have been barriers to the
commercial realization of a synthetic smell delivery apparatus.
Only very recently has some progress has been made, based on the
identification and functional classification of four distinct
classes of olfactory receptors and some limited understanding of
smell decoding.
A fundamental difference between the olfactory and taste systems on
one side and the other sensory modalities is that the latter
recognize energy in its different manifestations. Hearing uses
pressure waves, vision uses light, tactile sensation uses
temperature and/or mechanical force. In contrast, taste and smell
both entail the recognition of chemical substances within the
environment that are binding to either taste buds or olfactory
receptors, and possibly the vomeronasal organ (VNO, or Jacobson's
organ). Even more complex and less understood is the issue of
pheromones, that is, airborne hormones that do not evoke a smell
sensation but trigger other physiological responses like arousal,
attraction or, on the other end of the scale, deep enmity.
Because the sensation of smell requires the presence of odors in
the form of chemical substances that must be inhaled to bind to
receptors within the olfactory epithelium of the nasal mucosa, such
substances require a mechanism for their release into the air. The
amount of air going through the nasal passages is only a minor
fraction of the total air volume in the environment of the person
playing computer games (from hereon referred to as the "gamer").
Consequently, the amount of odorants or pheromones released into
the environment must be large enough so that even the small
fraction reaching the nasal receptors will evoke a sensation. In
other words, the total amount of odorants needed in any given
environment is orders of magnitude higher than that which will
eventually reach the targeted olfactory receptors.
Related to the mismatch between total release of odor molecules and
those molecules actually smelled is the problem that, even if it is
possible to construct an apparatus that generates different odors
by mixing known basic ingredients, those components, once released,
will linger in the environment until a complete exchange of air has
taken place. In other words, when changing a scene in a computer
game, the scents from the previous scene will remain if they are
released into the environment in a more or less nonspecific way.
The consequent mixing of different aromas can create some very
confusing and undesirable effects that are preferably avoided.
Often, it is in the interest of the gamer that nobody else in his
or her environment will be subjected to potentially foul odors,
pheromones, or other chemical substances intended exclusively for
the gamer's gaming experience.
Several approaches have been suggested in the computer gaming
industry to incorporate smells into a multimodal virtual reality
sensation. "ismell," a computer peripheral device developed by
DigiScents, Inc., is based on air diffusers that create an aerosol
by mixing a number of different aromatic substances to create
synthetic odors. The odors are blown in relatively small quantities
toward the gamer using a fan. In the interest of keeping
contamination of the environment and use of potentially costly
supplies as low as possible, the odors were kept at minimal levels,
barely reaching the threshold of an olfactory sensation. From a
practical standpoint, it is clear that this approach has several
drawbacks, particularly the inefficient delivery of the odors to
overcome sub-threshold levels, the consequent waste of substances,
and contamination of the environment. Moreover, the olfactory
system is extremely adaptive and, thus, a slow increase in
concentration of any substance may push the recognition threshold
to require even higher concentrations of odorants. As a result,
different solutions have been sought to overcome these
limitations.
More recently, a number of smell generators have been introduced,
creating aerosols that are blown in the general direction of the
recipient. One such device proposed as an olfactory computer game
enhancement is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,873 to Potter et
al. In this particular case, as well as in most other cases, a
number of substances are mixed in specific ratios to create
synthetic odors for the purpose of triggering certain olfactory
responses. However, a drawback is the nonspecific release of smells
into the environment, which adds cost and risks unpleasant side
effects on others sharing the same environment. U.S. Pat. No.
6,994,328 to Watkins et al. is intended to address this concern
with the use of a bolus generator that blows scented "smoke rings"
of highly concentrated scents at a target. Other approaches are
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,169,595 and 6,803,987 to Manne and
involve delivering scents to a gamer through a nasal tube, a mask,
or a stand, and then using a scent scrubber to clear lingering
odors before a new scent is delivered. Another precision
scent-delivery system using a nasal tube is disclosed in U.S. Pat.
No. 5,610,674 to Martin.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an apparatus for precise delivery of
chemical substances capable of olfactory stimulation, such as
odorants, fragrances, pheromones, etc., through an unconventional
use of a device that is otherwise common in current high-end gaming
configurations, namely a headset with an integrated microphone.
The headset includes at least one earpiece containing a speaker, a
feature for securing the earpiece to the person's head while
positioning the speaker over one of the person's ears when the
headset is worn, an armature disposed relative to the earpiece so
as to extend toward the person's mouth when the headset is worn, a
microphone located on the armature so as to be located in front of
the person's mouth when the headset is worn, and a feature
supported by and extending along the armature for delivering at
least one chemical substance to the person's nostril's when the
headset is worn.
In view of the above, it can be seen that a significant advantage
of this invention is that the armature of the headset on which the
microphone is mounted is used as a conduit capable of precise
delivery of chemical substances for olfactory stimulation (as well
as any other chemicals potentially of interest). When positioned by
the headset in front of the mouth of a gamer, as is conventionally
done for headset microphones, the microphone armature provides a
conduit capable of precisely delivering very targeted releases of
chemical substances near the nose of the gamer, and by equipping
the armature with a suitable orifice through which the chemical
substances are discharged, the substances can be directed directly
toward or even into the nose of the gamer. Consequently, the escape
of odors into the environment can be extremely limited compared to
other approaches that generally release an odor or fragrance into
the environment of the gamer. As such, the present invention
provides an uncomplicated implementation capable of providing a
superior gaming and sensual experience through multimodal sensory
integration (sight, hearing, and smell) by enabling limited and
very localized deliveries of chemical substances directed toward a
gamer's nose, thereby achieving rapid changes in the smell
environment while minimizing environmental contamination and the
cost of restocking the chemical substances.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will be better
appreciated from the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a headset having a microphone
armature adapted for delivering chemical substances to the nose of
a person wearing the headset in accordance with an embodiment of
this invention.
FIG. 2 represents a detailed rear view of a distal end of the
microphone armature of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIGS. 1 and 2 depict a headset 10 with a microphone armature 12
adapted to deliver chemical substances to the nostrils of a person
wearing the headset 10. Aside from this capability, the headset 10
can generally have a conventional configuration and construction,
as well as an unconventional configuration and construction, and as
such the headset 10 represented in the Figures is merely for
illustrative purposes.
As seen in the Figures, the headset 10 includes earpieces 14, each
preferably (though not necessarily) equipped with a speaker 16. The
earpieces 14 are shown as interconnected by a bridge 18
conventionally configured to locate the earpieces 14 on opposite
sides of the wearer's head and over the wearer's ears. As is also
conventional, the microphone armature 12 carries a microphone 20 at
or near its distal end 30. The armature 12 is shown as extending
from one of the earpieces 14, and is configured to locate the
microphone 20 in front of the wearer's mouth when the headset 10 is
worn. For example, and as well known in the art, the length of the
armature 12 is represented in FIG. 1 as being adjustable as a
result of constructing the armature 12 to comprise a bracket 22
slidably received in a sleeve 24. If so desired, the angular
orientation of the armature 12 may also be made adjustable by
pivotally connecting the armature 12 to the earpiece 14. As is
usual, wiring 26 within the armature 12 carries electrical signals
generated by the microphone 20 to the headset 10, and a cable 44
carries the electrical signals to a computer or other gaming system
(not shown), which may then use the signals for audible
communications with others or audible inputs to the gaming system.
As would be expected, the cable 44 also carries electrical signals
from the gaming system to the speakers 16, where the signals are
converted by the speakers 16 into sounds that can be heard by the
wearer. The cable 44 is preferably adapted to connect the headset
10 to the gaming system, such as with a USB plug 46 or other
suitable connector.
For the purpose of delivering the chemical substances to the wearer
of the headset 10, the armature 12 also contains at least one duct
28 through which the chemical substances flow from a reservoir 32,
represented in FIG. 2 as being within the earpiece 14 to which the
armature 12 is attached. The duct 28 delivers the chemical
substances to a release orifice 34 located within the distal end 30
of the armature 12, preferably adjacent and directly above the
microphone 20 as shown in FIG. 2 so that the chemical substances
ejected from the orifice 34 can be more directly routed to the
nostrils of the wearer, and therefore do not travel across the path
between the wearer's mouth and the microphone 20. In order to
facilitate rapid changes between smells, it is advantageous to
minimize the diameter and length of the duct 28 between the
reservoir 32 and the orifice 34. Furthermore, the orifice 34 can be
configured to eject one or more very fine streams of the chemical
substances, though broader distributions of the chemical substances
are also foreseeable and possible.
While the reservoir 32 is represented as being housed in the
earphone 14, other locations are possible including the earphone
bridge 18. The reservoir 32 preferably has compartments capable of
containing multiple chemical substance to allow for the mixing of
multiple chemical substances as may be necessary to produce a
desired smell or otherwise achieve a desired olfactory-based
reaction from the headset wearer. Because very small amounts of the
chemical substances are preferably effective in the preferred
embodiment, the reservoir 32 can be very small and mixing can be
performed with one or more very small micro-mechanical mixing
devices 38, such as a MEMS (micro-electromechanical system) device
that may be powered by a battery or with electrical power delivered
through the cable 44. Various chemical substances, known and
developed in the future, can be used in the practice of this
invention, including various odorants, fragrances, pheromones,
etc., both organic and synthetic, that are capable of achieving a
desired olfactory stimulation.
The release orifice 34 is shown in a preferred location above the
microphone 20 at the upper surface of the distal end 30 of the
armature 12, so that the chemical substances are discharged toward
the nose of the headset wearer, and more preferably toward and even
into the wearer's nostrils. The size and shape of the orifice 34
shown in FIG. 2 are for illustrative purposes only, in that a wide
variety of orifices could be employed. The reservoir 32 can be
slightly pressurized to promote the flow of the chemical substances
to the orifice 34. For example, the reservoir 32 and/or its
internal compartments can be pressurized by a suitable pressure
source 36, such as a small cartridge of pressurized air that acts
upon the exterior of the reservoir 32 or injects air into the
interior of the reservoir 32. In addition or alternatively, the
pressure source 36 can deliver puffs of air through the duct 28 or
through a separate duct (not shown) to assist in delivering the
chemical substances, resulting in the wearer being subjected to a
mixture of air and one or more chemical substances. With this
approach, a solenoid (not shown) can be used to intermittently
release air from the pressure source 36 into a mixing chamber 40
located downstream of the reservoir 32 and its mixing device 38, as
schematically represented in FIG. 1, so that mixing of the chemical
substances and air at least initially occurs within the confines of
the mixing chamber 40. Those skilled in the art will appreciate
that the function of providing intermittent doses or a continuous
stream of air capable of assisting in the delivery and possibly
mixing with the chemical substances can also be performed by a
pressure source 36 other than a cartridge, for example, the
pressure source 36 could be a small fan integrated into the headset
10.
If mixing of the chemical substances and air is desired, a water
reservoir 42 can be integrated into the headset 10 from which water
vapor is drawn to moisturize the air from the pressure source 36.
Alternatively or in addition, water can be used to mimic smells
associated with rain or water. For example, wet asphalt smells
could be used for car racing games and games that simulate a
dungeon or tropical rain. Furthermore, chemical substances such as
tertiary amines could be combined with the water to create an ocean
breeze for simulating environments of fishing games and naval
battles. In another example, chemical substances such as pheromones
can be released to reinforce games with sexual content.
While the invention has been described in terms of a specific
embodiment, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one
skilled in the art. For example, the physical configuration of the
headset 10 could differ from that shown, and
functionally-equivalent devices could be used to achieve the
desired functions of, for example, the duct 28, reservoir 32,
orifice 34, pressure source 36, mixing device 38, mixing chamber
40, etc. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited
only by the following claims.
* * * * *